8 London Museums You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of

June 17, 2016

Few would argue that London has one of the world’s best selections of museums. There really is something to appeal to everyone – even those who yawn at the very thought of spending an afternoon in a museum.

While the likes of the British Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum attract thousands of visitors every day and feature on most must-do itineraries, there are many other excellent alternatives which are often overlooked.

So here are 8 of London’s lesser known museums, many of which are FREE to visit:

V&A Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green

V&A Museum of Childhood

Forget about the kids – ok, they’ll love the hands-on exhibits and activities, but it’s the adults who’ll be pointing and laughing as they see their favourite toys from yesteryear. Action Men, Barbies, Hornby train sets, Transformers and much more.

There’s also a very good coffee shop in the centre of the museum. Admission is free.

Bank of England Museum, The City

A ‘sterling’ day out… at the Bank of England Museum

The museum tells the story of the Bank from its origins in 1694 to the present day. You can learn about the origins of bank notes and coins and see many old specimens. Best of all is the chance to lift a real bar of gold, worth around £300,000.

Geffrye Museum, Shoreditch

Welcome to 1965

A fascinating museum within a row of 18th-century almshouses. Visitors pass through a series of rooms, each designed in the style of a different period in London’s past, from the 16th to the 20th century.

If you visit around Christmas you’ll see each of the rooms decorated with period Christmas decorations. Admission is free.

Horniman Museum, Forest Hill

The Natural History Gallery at Horniman Museum

This is a real treasure trove of curiosities collected from around the world (you’re bound to wander how half of the stuff was acquired). There are stuffed animals, a huge collection of musical instruments and cultural trophies brought home from Africa and Asia by 19th-century explorers. Admission is free.

Sir John Soane’s Museum, Holborn

Picture perfect (Credit: Sir John Soane’s Museum)

John Soanes was a highly respected 19th-century architect, but more than that he was an obsessive collector of ‘stuff’. He was determined to leave his house as a museum open to anyone with a bit of curiosity.

It’s a messy yet delightful collection of period furniture, celebrated paintings (there’s a great collection of Hogarth’s satirical portraits of London) and rare Egyptian and Greco-Roman antiquities. Admission is free.

Dennis Severs’ House, Spitalfields

The Dickens Room at Dennis Severs’ House

From the outside this terraced house looks like many others in London’s East End. But as soon as you step in you enter a time warp, with rooms meticulously prepared to represent the lives of the house’s 18th and 19th-century inhabitants. Whereas most museums try to show how a place may have once looked, Dennis Severs’ House works to another level of detail entirely.

Smells have been created to replicate those which would have wafted through the house in the 18th and 19th centuries; even subtle noises have been used to have you believe that the original residents have just left the room.

You need to explore in silence to appreciate the full sensory effect of this most unusual place.

The Old Operating Theatre, Southwark

The Old Operating Theatre (Credit: Dazeley)

This is Europe’s oldest operating theatre and is set in the roof above St Thomas’s Church. You can visit throughout the week, but if you make it on a Saturday lunchtime you’ll see a hands-on demonstration of the barbaric surgeries which were performed here in the 19th century – you may even be called up as a volunteer ‘patient’. Eek.

The theatre was once busy with curious onlookers and medical students, and the surgeon would only wash his hands after an operation; he was far more concerned about getting his hands dirty with someone else’s insides than with any thoughts of hygiene.

The demonstration strikes just the right balance between entertainment and education.

Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising

A proper #ThrowbackThursday at the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising

Another one for a dose of happy nostalgia, this great little museum belies its rather uninspiring name. On the face of it you’ll find a colourful collection of old chocolate wrappers, washing powder packets and family board games. These old items are used to put together a social history of Britain; one of the highlights is the music collection which accompanies the change in attitudes and lifestyles in the post-war years.

The collection of sweets and chocolates from the 1970s will particularly bring a smile to all forty- and fiftysomethings.